Brits go barmy for darts bars and spend £28m in three months after Luke Littler success
A chain of bars offering interactive darts games and drinks – called Flight Club – have been stacking profits as Luke Littler makes the sport more popular among the young
Luke Littler’s success has been ground-breaking (Image: Manchester United via Getty Imag)
Darts-mad Brits have blown £28m on nights at the oche in just three months. Luke Littler’s world championship success has sparked a record rise in sales at Flight Club darts bars.
Owner Red Engine’s sales soared by 10% to £27.7m in the last three months of the year. The company enjoyed a record December with 22 of its 24 venues achieving their highest weekly sales that month.
It also recorded its largest single day of sales, at £775,000. Flight Club is a chain of bars offering food and drink alongside interactive darts boards and games. They have surged in popularity since teen superstar Luke Littler exploded onto the scene, winning back-to-back world titles.
The company has expanded rapidly since opening its first site in Shoreditch, east London, in 2015 and now boasts venues across the UK as well as in the US and Australia via franchise partners.
Total system sales, comprising both franchise and company-owned venues, rose to £46.4m in the final quarter – a year-on-year increase of 25%. Red Engine’s chief financial officer Ross Shepley-Smith said: “Finishing off a milestone year with results like these really is the icing on the cake.”
As well as planning further UK openings this year – including a venue in Reading in May – the company said it would continue to expand overseas, with bars in Seattle, New York, Dallas and the Sydney suburb of Newtown.
Red Engine’s co-founder and chief executive Steve Moore said: “As always we continue scouting for unique spaces that fit our vibe in locations where we know we’d bring something special to the nightlife scene. Cities such as Brighton, Cambridge and Bath, among many others, all tick the box as places we’d love to eventually call home.”
It comes as Luke Littler has been barred from competing in the PDC Development Tour for the third consecutive year. The 19-year-old darts sensation has experienced a remarkable ascent in the sport since reaching the World Darts Championship final just over two years ago.
The Englishman’s displays at Alexandra Palace in December 2023 propelled him to 31st in the world rankings, with Littler subsequently claiming Premier League Darts, Grand Slam of Darts and two World Championship titles, amongst numerous others.
Accumulating over £3million in career prize money and achieving world No. 1 status means the teenager has already scaled the sport’s summit. However, that very success has excluded him from competing against his peers at the forthcoming 2026 PDC Winmau Development Tour.
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